Rugby World Cup 1995 movie, ‘Invictus’ in cinemas soon

Directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, Invictus showing in cinemas in December

Clint Eastwood has directed a movie which tells the tale of how Nelson Mandela and former Springbok captain, Francois Pienaar joined forces in 1995 to bring the nation together during the Rugby World Cup. Apparently it is set to become the biggest South African based film of all time. It was filmed in South Africa around March this year and stars Morgan Freeman as the great man himself, Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar. I'm really looking forward to seeing this, especially to check how well Matt Damon does with a Saffa accent, Leo di Caprio did pretty well in Blood Diamond in my opinion. The film is due to hit cinemas on 11th December which is just over a month away and a promo poster for it was released last week. Matt Damon spent alot of time in South Africa training to be a rugby player coached by none other than former Springbok wing, Chester Williams who you'll remember played in the 95 World Cup. Morgan Freeman was cast from the very start for obvious reasons, because without even seeing the movie yet, you just know that he will portray Madiba perfectly. The film was originally going to be called 'The Human Factor' but has since been changed to 'Invictus'. It is based on the book "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation" by John Carlin. The plot summary from the IMDB is as follows:

The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

Alot of us will remember that day like it was yesterday, for some it was as memorable as the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, it was the day that South Africa became the World Cup champions of Rugby for the first time, although thinking about it, its actually already 14 years ago, can you believe it, time has flown, there's been three Rugby World Cups since then, and just to remind all non-saffa's incase you've forgotten, we won it again around this time two years ago The Rugby World Cup 1995 became a significant part of South African history, not just for South African rugby, but also as a vehicle that brought the entire nation together standing united as one. It was a time where the entire nation became completely colourblind and fully supported our boys to that very final whistle being blown at the end of that unforgettable final. There is no doubt in my mind that the main man Mr. Eastwood has managed to encapsulate all that into this story. I've been amazed at how many people have never really known what went on behind the scenes with Madiba and the Boks at the time, and this is going to be a sure way of exposing all that. Below is a Youtube video of a short documentary for ESPN, funny enough narrated by Morgan Freeman, which should give you an idea of what went on, its a definate watch and very interesting view which brings back alot of memories. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4vlFQA-t9w